A large and growing population of users enjoy entertainment through the consumption of digital publications (also referred to herein as media items), such as electronic books (also referred to herein as ebooks), electronic newspapers, electronic magazines, and other electronic reading material. Users employ various electronic devices to consume such publications. Among these electronic devices are electronic book readers, cellular telephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable media players, tablet computers, electronic pads, netbooks, desktop computers, notebook computers, and the like.
Though users are rapidly adopting electronic book readers as a medium to enjoy reading material, many users still prefer to read physical versions of books (also known as hardcopy or print versions) on occasion, or prefer to borrow books from a library rather than purchasing those books. Additionally, many books are not available in an electronic version, or may be out of print and only available from a library. Presently, portable electronic devices such as electronic book readers do not provide a unified means for a user to search for physical versions of books at physical locations (e.g., brick and mortar stores and physical libraries) and electronic versions of books at electronic locations (e.g., online stores and electronic libraries), or to purchase and/or check out those books.